organized!

after reading about the johnson's and their lack of waste & excess, i got inspired to tackle my own closet. do i really need everything it contains? do i even wear half of what it contains? i went thru, sorted every article; figured out what i wear, what i don't & why. turns out i was lacking a few basics, and i needed to part with more than a few things. took my unwanted items into a resale shop & got a little cash. 


i then took said cash & bought what i was missing. low and behold, i have a fully functional wardrobe. i can now wear things that have been on hangers for years. literally. 


and so i am going to highly recommend starting the new year off right, sorting, eliminating & acquiring (only the few things you are needing of course). cheers! 

looking good.

Change in weather is a great excuse to dig into your closet & make it work a bit better. While you are tucking your warm weather wear away, why not take a moment to sift through what you wear & what you don't? Here are some tips for organizing your closet...

1. Pull out & pack away those summer clothes, taking a moment to notice what you wore & what you didn't. if you can't remember the last time you wore it, it may be time to part ways. 
2. Start your donate/resell pile.
3. Lay out the remaining contents of your closet, sorting them into piles of function; sweaters, jackets, work shirts, dresses, casual wear, etc. 
4. I think it is extremely helpful to spend a moment considering each piece; was it useful last winter? why or why not? if you didn't wear something because you never felt inspired to put it on, it's time to say goodbye, but if you just didn't have the right pieces to make it work, for instance, leggings, a cardigan, or versatile pants, it may be time to do a little shopping.
5. Start putting your closet back together. i organize my closet by color & my drawers by function.
6. As you are putting things back, think about what would make getting dressed easier; maybe another shelf, some matching hangers, or a container for shoes?
7. And so it goes. get rid of unwanted items, either donate them, take them to a resale shop in your area, or host a clothing swap with friends.

{photo via body + soul}

cupboards & pantries, oh my!

 
Drawers & doors are scary beasts that tend to inspire otherwise tidy people to amass hidden messes. Pantries, or kitchen cupboards, can be the most dangerous. The very purpose of them being there is to put things in them. Here are some tips via yours truly & real simple on transforming your pantry into a more functional place...

organize.

New York City mom Lauri Freedman has some great tips for organizing the home. Keeping her household of five organized has inspired  her to  come up with solutions that even her youngest can manage. 

Freedman believes in keeping things simple. Storage solutions have to be easy for both kids & grown-ups to use.

It doesn't get more simple and straightforward than cubbies; "I'm a big believer in cubbies," she says. "They suggest an organizational process to kids. The key is that their stuff is easy for them to put away."  

Whether your little people are the reason you can't seem to get organized, or your brood is grown and gone, Lauri has some great tips. For photos and the whole scoop, visit realsimple.